Toshiba to cease HD DVD operations
Tuesday 19th February 2008, 07:07:00 PM, written by Carl Bender
Following a string of devastating news for the HD DVD format, Toshiba announced today that they will officially cease all HD DVD-related development. The company will begin immediately to scale back on the shipment of players into the retail channel, targeting the end of March for the total conclusion of hardware shipments. For owners of existing hardware, Toshiba will continue to provide customer support until such a time as demand for such support diminishes. Toshiba has also pledged to purchase recordable media directly from disc manufacturers if necessary, in order to ensure a source of blank discs remains available for the near/mid-term.
In conjunction with the above, Toshiba used the press conference as a high-profile podium from which to highlight the planned construction of two new state-of-the-art NAND fabrication facilities in Japan. To be undertaken in part with memory partner SanDisk, the project carries a capex value of over US $15 billion, and is aimed at securing Toshiba's place as the global leader in NAND production. Although Toshiba did not commit to the specific NAND technology or fabrication process to be used, the move will position Toshiba strongly relative to the increase in demand expected as digital distribution and flash-based storage become a larger part of the consumer landscape.
During the Q&A session that followed the conference, Toshiba indicated that it had no plans at present either for the support of Blu-ray or for investment in future optical disc technologies. Such a position may be expected, however, given the context of the environment in which the comments were made.
Interestingly, the Q&A also revealed the total number of HD DVD players sold to date: 600,000 units in the US (inclusive of 300k 360 add-ons), 100,000 units in Europe, and 30,000 units in Japan (inclusive of 20,000 recorders).
In conjunction with the above, Toshiba used the press conference as a high-profile podium from which to highlight the planned construction of two new state-of-the-art NAND fabrication facilities in Japan. To be undertaken in part with memory partner SanDisk, the project carries a capex value of over US $15 billion, and is aimed at securing Toshiba's place as the global leader in NAND production. Although Toshiba did not commit to the specific NAND technology or fabrication process to be used, the move will position Toshiba strongly relative to the increase in demand expected as digital distribution and flash-based storage become a larger part of the consumer landscape.
During the Q&A session that followed the conference, Toshiba indicated that it had no plans at present either for the support of Blu-ray or for investment in future optical disc technologies. Such a position may be expected, however, given the context of the environment in which the comments were made.
Interestingly, the Q&A also revealed the total number of HD DVD players sold to date: 600,000 units in the US (inclusive of 300k 360 add-ons), 100,000 units in Europe, and 30,000 units in Japan (inclusive of 20,000 recorders).
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